A fastener driving apparatus is a tool used to drive fasteners, such as nails and staples into a workpiece. The fastener driving apparatus may be used for various operations, such as making wooden walls, positioning hang sheathings over the wooden walls, fastening baseboards over a lower portion of an interior wall and crown molding.
There are various fastener driving apparatuses known in the art. These fastener driving apparatuses operate utilize various means and mechanisms known in the art for their operation. For example, the prior art fastener driving apparatuses may be operated based on compressed air generated by an air compressor, fuel cells, electrical energy, a flywheel mechanism, and the like.
Although these fastener driving apparatuses are useful in driving fasteners into a workpiece, such apparatuses have numerous limitations. For example, the fastener driving apparatuses operated on the compressed air are bulkier, non-portable and costlier due to requirement of the air compressor and associated air-lines. Fastener driving apparatuses operated on the fuel cells are complicated in design and are expensive. Further, the apparatuses that are operated on fuel cells require both electrical energy and fuel. More specifically, a spark source required for combustion of the fuel derives its energy from various electric energy sources, such as batteries and the like. Furthermore, the fastener driving apparatuses operated on fuel cells generate a loud report and release combustion products.
Further, the fastener driving apparatuses operated on electrical energy are limited to fasteners of relatively short lengths, such as one inch or less. Further, fastener driving apparatuses operated on electrical energy generate a high reactionary force. Therefore, a prolonged use of such a fastener driving apparatus requires user to expend a substantial amount of effort in order to resist the reactionary force, which makes the utilization of the fastener driving apparatuses a tiring job. Further, the reactionary force may cause inaccurate driving of the fasteners into the workpiece in the subsequent drives done by the apparatus. The high reactionary force is typically a consequence of the comparatively longer time taken by such fastener driving apparatuses to drive the fasteners into the workpiece. Therefore, the fastener driving apparatuses operated on electrical energy are limited in their repetition rate because of the long time it takes to drive a fastener into the workpiece.
Moreover, although fastener driving apparatuses operated by flywheels are capable of driving the fasteners of longer sizes very quickly, these apparatuses are bulkier in size and weight. Further, drive mechanisms of these apparatuses are complicated in design, which results in a high cost of such apparatuses. Additionally, the fastener driving apparatuses operated by flywheel also generate high reactionary force.
Additionally, a majority of the above-mentioned fastener driving apparatuses includes a striker mechanism for driving the fasteners into the workpiece. The striker mechanism may be retracted to its initial position by means of various retracting mechanisms, such as a spring, a bungee and the like. Although such striker mechanisms are useful in driving the fasteners into the workpiece, these retracting mechanisms have numerous limitations. For example, the retracting mechanisms, due to inertia associated therewith, consume significant amounts of drive energy of the apparatuses and may prevent the fasteners from being fully driven into the workpiece. Accordingly, these retracting mechanisms may require an increase in power to drive the fasteners into the workpiece. Further, these retracting mechanisms reduce the drive speed of the fastener driving apparatuses. The existing retracting mechanisms may also bias the striker mechanism towards the workpiece, causing a safety hazard for the user.
Based on the foregoing, there exists a need for a fastener driving apparatus employing a retracting mechanism that precludes consumption of drive energy of the fastener driving apparatus and facilitates a fastener to be fully driven into a workpiece. The fastener driving apparatus should have the retracting mechanism that is capable of precluding reduction of drive speed of the fastener driving apparatus and that is capable of providing safety to a user. Further, the fastener driving apparatus should be portable in nature and should be capable of driving the fastener into the workpiece in a single stroke. Moreover, the fastener driving apparatus should provide a minimized reactionary force while operating the fastener driving apparatus.